Google gives green light for new RMG apps in India, Mexico and Brazil
Developers in markets to be offered further support following success of pilot programmes for DFS and rummy
Google is set to allow real-money gaming (RMG) apps to go live on the Google Play store in India, Mexico and Brazil later this year.
As part of the continued rollout of RMG apps on the operating system, Android also confirmed there are plans in place to expand to more users in more countries in the future.
As part of the process, Google will launch expanded RMG support in June to developers for Indian, Mexican and Brazilian users.
Under the rollout, developers currently engaged in RMG pilots in India and Mexico will be able to continue to offer their apps on Google Play.
In India, where there is a current DFS and Rummy app pilot running, developers have been given a grace period for pilot apps to remain on Google Play until 30 June.
After that point, developers will be able to distribute RMG apps on Google Play to users in India, beyond DFS and rummy, in compliance with local laws and Android’s policy.
In Mexico there is a DFS pilot programme running which is scheduled to end on 30 June.
Similarly, to India, after this date developers can distribute RMG apps on Google Play to users in Mexico, beyond DFS, in compliance with local laws.
In a post on the news and insight site Android Developers Blog, director of global trust and safety partnerships Karan Gambhir detailed the thinking behind expanding RMG apps across the new markets.
He said: “In response to strong demand, in 2021 we began onboarding a wider range of real-money gaming (RMG) apps in markets with pre-existing licensing frameworks. Since then, this app category has continued to flourish with developers creating new RMG experiences for mobile.
“Based on the learnings from the pilots and positive feedback from users and developers, Google Play will begin supporting more RMG apps this year, including game types and operators not covered by an existing licensing framework.
“We’ll launch this expanded RMG support in June to developers for their users in India, Mexico and Brazil, and plan to expand to users in more countries in the future.
“We’re pleased that this new approach will provide new business opportunities to developers globally while continuing to prioritise user safety. It also enables developers currently participating in RMG pilots in India and Mexico to continue offering their apps on Google Play.
“As Google Play evolves our support of RMG around the world, we look forward to helping you continue to delight users, grow your businesses and launch new game types in a safe way,” Gambhir added.
In 2021, Google added a further 15 countries to its list of markets which could launch RMG apps on Google Play following an initial launch in 2017.